Critical Democrat hears from White House

Jul. 9, 2014
|

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas / Joel Martinez, AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

A Democratic House member who has criticized President Obama for not planning to visit the Texas border this week says he's heard some static from the White House.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Tex., told Fox & Friends on Wednesday that he's less concerned about "who gets angry at me at the White House," and more concerned about "my constituents who want to find a practical solution to this question that we're facing down there at the border."

Officials are grappling with a huge spike in illegal border crossings from migrants in Central America.

Cuellar declined to say who from the White House called him, and added that he would continue to speak out.

Indeed, on MSNBC, Cuellar said he couldn't understand why Obama wouldn't visit the Texas border even though he will be in Austin on Wednesday -- and he cited the president's bar visit and pool game in Denver on Tuesday night.

"He's so close to the border," Cuellar said. "And let me say this: when I saw -- and I hate to use the word bizarre -- but under the circumstances, when he is shown playing pool in Colorado, drinking a beer, and he can't even go 242 miles to the Texas border?"

Cuellar added: "Plus, if he doesn't want to go down to the border, there's the Air Force Base where HHS is holding some of the young kids from the border. He could at least make that trip to San Antonio, but again, border community leaders wants to see him down there on the border, and I think the optics and the substance of it is that he should show up at the border."